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Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Tasting Time Again: Stoudts & Victory V-12

So it was about 65 degrees tonight. Isn't that the suggested temp for fermenting beer? Heheh...well no brewing tonight. Just some microbrew tasting. Or maybe they call that craft brewing these days (shrug).
So I was down at Bryan's place tonight. I brought a cigar with me, an El Rey De Mundo Robusto. Bryan presented me with a golden coppery beer in a pint glass. I was kinda puzzled by the nose and taste. I didn't take notes, but, I remember it being very complex. I couldn't place it. After a minute or so he gave it up. Stoudts Double IPA was more than I was expecting. Wow, not exactly one of those brews that you can categorize easily. Definitely enjoyable, but, not for the faint of heart :-)
A bunch of conversations later and the arrival of some other guests brought out the bigger beer. Victory V-12 is a 12% quadrupel that is utterly drinkable. I can't say I have anything to compare it to. It has a subtle nose and a balanced taste. We shared a large (750 ml) bottle of this limited edition brew. This is an excellent high end beer for that person who hasn't tasted too many high end beers. Thanks Bryan :-).
So toward the end of the night Bryan suggested Stoudts' Fat Dog Stout. Kinda heavy for the finishing beer, but, it went well with the cigar. Again no tasting notes. It pours a deep brown with the light catching a reddish tint. This is not the Irish stout that you may be familiar with. It is much more than that. Kinda like a Stout with a suppressed porter personality.

5 comments:

Wow, the Victory V-12 sounds like an amazing beer. I haven't had any luck finding a place around me that sells individual bottles of the V-12. Perhaps that could be remedied by taking a visit to the brewery itself?

I just bought a bottle of the Weyerbacher Quad, which from what I've heard was pretty good. As far as Quads go, I'm a particular fan of the Three Philosophers from Ommegang.

From what I remember Three Philosophers is bigger in every respect. I have only had it twice. Jeremy shared some with me I think and down at the BEATS Blues & Brews at The World Cafe last year. Now that is a good beer.

Yup, I've only purchased single bottles for myself straight from the brewery in Downingtown. Not sure if that's convenient for you. If not, I'm thinking of a couple places in CC Philly, like Eulogy and the Foodery, which sell single bottles and probably stand as good of a chance as any of carrying them. Also, The Six Pack Store in Northeast Philly on the Roosevelt Blvd. (they'll also fill growlers to go!!)

Also, I checked Michael's in K.o.P. last night. All they're carrying from Victory is Pils, Fest, and Hop Devil in 12 oz. bottles. Kind of surprised that even in the 12oz. that they're so limited in Victory inventory. Esp. considering their vast supply of other beers.

p.s. Adam, they're even carrying the "Superhop" from Barley Creek in the Poconos!